Hello all,
I’m new to this site but a friend told me to give it a try information reguarding good lighting for both basement and garage. The lights in the basement I have interfear with the TV and radio. (The lights in the garage will not come on when they should, they are the ushaped floresent bulbs. This garage is in NH it belongs to my MIL.
Thanks for the help KP
Replies
It's all in the ballast. What you need is RFI-filtered electronic ballasts. Expect to pay an arm. (For the garage situation any old electronic ballast should work -- only a few fingers.)
Aren't the HO fixtures necessary up there in the tundra? He's in HN.
Even an el-cheapo mag ballast fixture will start eventually -- it just may take an hour or two. Generally any electronic ballast will do well enough for garage lighting.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
I've run into this problem in the shop. I like to listen to the radio when I'm in there. I put up electronic ballast fluorescent and they still interfere with the radio. So what I'm going to do is put the radio in the next room or far enough away so it doesn't pick it up and run speaker wire to the shop. Then I need a way to adjust volume and station remotely. I think radio shack has something that will do that.
I have the same issue when I work in the basement at my house. I have the low profile wraparound, 4', 2 lamp, electronic balast, 32W T-8's. These light up well but interfer with radio and TV. So are there can lights that might be better for the basement?
So what is the best reconmendation for a cold garage that is in need of lighting? The place I work just installed high efficentcy floresent fixtures but I think that they run off 220 volts. Is anything like that available for the homeowner?
One last crazy idea, what about LED's for this application?
thanks for any help, kaiserRoo
There are a few issues that need addressing here. I am a strong proponent of doing thing right the first time. In a shop you are trying to make things to go out the door.
If you shop is to cold, to hot , to moist, to dark, to noisy, etc, etc, you can't get work done in a timely manner. And some guys like building the perfect shop instead of the shop serving the work the goes out the door. But most people go the way of lousy/cheap conditions and the work shows it.
First off you want LOTS of light. The more light the better. The way I look at it is I put searing hot light on my work so every detail stands out. That way in normal light it looks perfect. I also use magnification for up close work if it is necessary. I buy cheap mag glasses with the whole lens magnified from the grocery store.
You can light the whole shop and then use task lights for certain areas/stations.
I'm not real picky about what kind of light it is. You do have to have a full spectrum light for finishes so the color is true but that is the exception not the rule so buying special light for the whole shop is a waste of money imo.
The best and cheapest way to light large areas WELL is to buy shop fluorescent electronic ballast fixtures. Buy/put up more than you think you need. Plan on using task lighting for some areas/stations. I went to home depot and bought the best 2 bulb 4 foot electronic florescent fixtures they had. they are fine for a shop or a basement.
Moving the radio out of the shop and controlling it remotely won't be that hard. I haven't done it yet but I don't see it being that hard. But the money you save by using less expensive fluorescent fixtures will be the best imo.
Watching TV in the shop is just wrong imo. It goes against you making things. It wants you to sit and watch others doing things.
I hope this helps. I gotta go make something.
TV's upstairs and the 5 yr old hates when she can't see her programs on PBS.
All the other info is good and I thank you for it.
KaiserRoo
Sorry about assuming it was tv in the shop. Is the tv on cable? Is it on rabbit ears? If it is on rabbit ears you could put an antenna in the attic and run a wire down to the tv. Roof antennas in the attic are pretty common. Try it in another room first before you commit to the attic. You can pick up antennas for free if you look around. Everybody is going cable. If you run a wire to the tv from the antenna use cable because it is shielded.
there are ways of shielding equiptment form stray voltage but it involves heavy plates of grounded material. One of the best is grounded lead.
Edited 1/23/2008 3:53 pm ET by popawheelie
That's ok because at the rate I'm going my wife will want everything either in the shed or basement whick means I would have to sit on the table saw while watching Law and Order. I hope I won't need to have the the blade up as high as it'll go with it on in order to get better reception.
Thanks for the tip about antennas in the attic as I'm sure my wife would prefer it there.
KaiserRoo
I know what you mean. It's been a long winter in our house and sometimes the cold isn't coming from outside.
It's supposed to 45 tomorrow and I'm going for a long bike ride. I've got to get out of here. you know what they say about absence makes the heart grow fonder.
We have this guy a few streets over that rides around on a unicycle. Same guy that did my electrical. Perhaps it started out as a two wheeler but then he got the wife upset. i saw him last week early in the morning on one of our main roads here in South Kingstown RI
KaiserRoo
Some guys are just plain nuts. But i love 'em. I went on a 8 day bike tour across Kansas and a guy did it on a unicycle. Nuts! On another 8 day tour a guy did it on rollerblades.
Two important points about fluorescents when it comes to both starting and RFI (noise):1) The fixture MUST be properly grounded.2) Polarity of the fixture wires MUST be strictly observed.In older homes, or where a DIYer has mucked things up, either or both of these rules could be violated.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader